So Many Lawsuits, So Little Time

There are at least four ways that physicians can be sued over genetic testing, blogs Hsien-Hsien Lei. One is wrongful birth (also called wrongful life), a scenario in which a doctor might have received a false negative result or not have done enough genetic testing. Another is not doing pharmacogenetic testing before prescribing a drug, such as warfarin. The last two ways that Lei mentions are giving negligent medical advice and claiming the right of conscience to deny patients genetic testing. "Considering the complexity of genetics, can we expect busy doctors to keep abreast of the field?" she asks.